Nigeria's new petroleum law has come under renewed focus with the release of a policy brief on ‘Mainstreaming Fiscal Responsibility in the Petroleum Sector.’

The policy brief is the outcome of a study commissioned by a cluster of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) under the auspices of the Growth Initiatives for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) Nigeria Project led by OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative (OAI), Nigeria’s civic tech non-profit focused on bridging the gap between citizens and parliament while facilitating public policy engagements to advance Transparency, Accountability and Good Governance (TAGG) in the country.

The release of the policy brief was held in Abuja during the week and attracted the participation of stakeholders in the petroleum and public finance sectors, including the management of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

Speaking at the event, Oke Epia, Executive Director of OAI said the brief was commissioned by the GIFT Nigeria Project to interrogate the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021 in terms of fiscal responsibility and responsiveness.”

Chairman of the FRC, Mr. Victor Muruako, who was represented by Mr. Charles Abana, Head of Legal and Enforcement, commended OAI and the cluster for their collaboration with other partners to come up with a laudable brief. He said the recommendations contained in the document will point the Commission in the direction of how to mainstream fiscal responsibility in the petroleum sector.

According to him, “the prevalence of weak regulatory regimes has dire consequences on the fiscal health of the country, and ultimately, the standard of living of the Nigerian people.”

Oil and Gas Governance Consultant, Mr. Henry Adigun, in his review of the policy brief, made a case for better funding of the FRC, to enable it carry out its mandate in enforcing provisions on fiscal responsibility and macro-economic stability.

On his part, Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, who was represented by Mr. Chris Ochonu, Assistant Director, Advocacy and Communications, said the release of the policy brief is a value-addition to the literature on petroleum industry reforms in the country. He said further that NEITI is proud of the work OrderPaper does in the sector.

The GIFT Nigeria Project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with technical support from the Palladium Group. Members of the GIFT Nigeria cluster as led by OAI are: Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Hipcity Innovation Centre, and CLICE Foundation.

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